Cleage
is also the lead author profile in ESSENCE's upcoming March 2006 issue, which
goes on sale February 7. For more information about
The ESSENCE Book Club Recommended Read program, see the upcoming March 2006
issue of ESSENCE magazine or visit http://www. For more information, visit
http://www.

literature authors

Book Club members will
receive a monthly e-mail containing details of the most recent book selection,
links to exclusive author forums, interactive internet chats, chapter
previews , upcoming book news and prizes.com.95). Also, the recently announced ESSENCE Short Fiction Contest received
more than 2,000 entries from regions as far as Africa and Japan.essence.com.

f literature

NEW YORK , ESSENCE magazine will launch The ESSENCE
Book Club Recommended Read program and a national reading campaign. It was
announced today by Angela Burt-Murray, editor-in-chief of the preeminent
magazine for more than seven million African Americans. "Education increases achievement and impacts social
change . Bass and photographer and artist Karen Pugh coauthored
In Our Own Image: Treasured African-American Traditions, Journeys and Icons
(Running Press, 2001)."

Participants in the contest submit questions for possible use in future
editions of Booktastic! and are entered to win a personalized , autographed
novel by bestselling young adult author Lynne Hansen.com. Her first
novel "The Return " debuted at #1 on the Children's E-book Bestseller list.LynneHansen.

literature arts

"The Book Club
provides a key place for the African American community to share its thoughts
about the books that inspire them the most.

literature mark

The far-reaching
campaign is designed to inspire adults, teens and children to read more ,
underscore the importance of parents reading to their children, and to
stimulate public support for libraries that are sorely lacking resources in
urban areas. ESSENCE editors will also provide
online discussion questions and reader guidelines about the featured book. Jones are among the
dozens of authors who launched their writing careers in the pages of the
magazine."
Details about other components of the yearlong campaign, including a
parent's challenge to read to their children and ways to support public
libraries, will be announced in the coming weeks. The contest runs
through November 15, 2005, and prize winners will be randomly selected. Players move around a quaint town square of bookstores to buy,
sell and trade popular titles with money earned from answering questions or
sharing opinions prior to each turn. For more
information, visit http://www.

authors f

"Reading strengthens education," said Angela Burt-Murray, editor-in-chief
of ESSENCE magazine, the preeminent lifestyle magazine for more than seven
million African-Americans. This important campaign is an opportunity to affect large-scale
progress. Throughout the year,
ESSENCE will select a recently released, classic fiction or non-fiction title
by an African-American author to be highlighted. Individuals can sign-up by logging on to http://www.
The first selection is New York Times best-selling author Pearl Cleage's
newest book, Baby Brother's Blues (One World/Ballantine Books, $24. The
Essence Best-Sellers List, which appears each month in the magazine and
on-line, is the foremost measure of book sales within the African American
community.

Booktastic! today announced the official
release of its Family Edition featuring children's literature. The "books" in each store contain
real-life information so players learn about bestselling books and authors.

literature homepage

"
The main element of the campaign is The ESSENCE Book Club Recommended Read
program, one of the largest book clubs of its kind. Since its
inception, ESSENCE has been the leading portal of introduction for emerging
African American literary talent, celebrating established authors and
reflecting publishing trends within the African American community. Terry McMillan, Gloria Naylor and Edward P. He is an award-winning writer and editor, with an extensive
background in publishing covering books, lifestyle and popular culture. For more than 35 years, ESSENCE has celebrated
personal achievement, chronicled social movement , documented struggles,
showcased beauty, defined and set trends.com/FamilyContest. "Kids will
be too busy having fun to realize they are learning.
Even people who do not read enjoy this game with its unique category of
questions with no wrong answer.

literature homepage

essence.
"We are thrilled that Pearl Cleage's newest book is the first selection of
The ESSENCE Book Club Recommended Read program," said Bass. Published by Essence Communications Inc. To
learn more about the contest, visit
http:/ /www.

"Booktastic! is covert education at its finest," said Hansen.booktasticgame.

About Lynne Hansen

Lynne Hansen is the bestselling author of the Heritage of Horror series of
young adult historical novels from Hard Shell Word Factory.

literature authors

ESSENCE Announces ESSENCE Book Club Recommended Read Program and Launches National Reading Campaign

ESSENCE is the authority on African American literature.
Patrik Henry Bass, books editor for ESSENCE magazine, has been an integral
part of this evolution and thus has become the voice of African American
literature. He is also the author of Like A Mighty Stream, The
March on Washington, August 28, 1963 (Running Press, 2002).,
it is the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of
African American women's lives.

"We continue to support teachers and librarians looking for innovative new
ways to keep kids learning," said Laine Keneller, president of Booktastic!
"This contest provides young people an opportunity to have their writing
featured in a board game available throughout the United States .booktasticgame."

Since its release in 2004, Booktastic! is now carried in over 1500 various
retail outlets and libraries throughout the United States.
Her second novel "The Change" won the 2005 EPPIE for Best Young Adult
Novel.com.

author f

In
addition, each selected title will feature The ESSENCE Book Club Recommended
Read logo on the book's cover, which will be sold in bookstores throughout the
country . He has
also written and edited for a number of publications including The New York
Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, The Washington Post, Time
Out New York, Brooklyn Bridge, Entertainment Weekly and BET Weekend, where he
was a founding editor.

ABOUT ESSENCE:
With more than seven million readers, ESSENCE is the preeminent lifestyle
magazine for African American women.

PRESS RELEASE Booktastic! Announces Release of Family Edition Board Game

Booktastic !, a board game designed for book lovers, families and educators,
celebrated the release by kicking off a contest where children and young
adults can participate in future editions of the popular game . The game has
received media coverage in USA Today, Publishers Weekly, The Christian
Science Monitor , and The London Telegraph.

About Booktastic!

Booktastic! is a fun board game designed for readers, families and
educators. Her newest book "Rave New World," available from SparkNotes ,
features over 1,000 SAT vocabulary words and definitions.